The Billionaire's Fake Fiancee - Lauren Wood Page 0,36

before our mouths collided.

15

Kate

There was a throbbing pain deep in my skull when I woke up, not entirely sure of where I was or how I got there. Why did I have the distinct feeling that someone should have been sleeping next to me?

I rolled over, realizing that no one was there, but I was in my own bed. I shot up, flinging my hands to my pounding head. “What the hell happened last night!?” I groaned.

I slowly fluttered my eyes open through the pain and looked around my room. My clothes were scattered across the floor along with half the contents of my spilled purse. I glanced over to the nightstand and noticed a full glass of water sitting next to two aspirin. Both were rested on top of a slip of paper.

I quickly threw back the aspirin with a big chug of water, which still had remnants of ice floating inside, snatching up the note as I swallowed.

Kate, last night was fun. Good luck with everything at work and in life. I wish you nothing but the best. And I hope you find a real fiancé one day. -Ben

I stared at the handwritten words for a long time, blinking. The last thing I remembered clearly was having a blast with him at the bar. But this note was definitely a final send-off. What the hell had happened? A question I was getting all too used to asking when it came to Ben.

I swallowed hard, despite my dry, itchy throat and mouth. One thing I knew for certain after checking the time was that I would be late to work. And I needed coffee and a shower before anything else could happen.

I set the coffee maker to work on a full fresh pot and shuffled into the bathroom. Standing in there, even for only a few minutes, sounded exhausting. So I opted for a bath instead. I needed to lay out flat on my back and try to wrap my head around the rest of my blurry memories from the evening.

But first I was hit with the memory of Ben’s hands between my legs as I waded in that very tub. I was buzzing with arousal at the lingering thoughts … The way he scooped me out of the water and placed me on the counter. At least those memories did something to overshadow my hangover.

It didn’t take long after I settled into the hot water for it all to come flooding back to me. We were laughing and talking, all while drinking way too much. I remembered saying something to him … I didn’t exactly remember what I said, but I had a feeling I said things I would regret if I knew.

Then we were kissing. Long, passionate, deep, intoxicating kisses. We made out in the bar, then in his car, at my apartment door. It all led to the bedroom where it unraveled the way it had all those times before. Once the barriers between us were down, there was no way to put them back up.

We were having sex … hot, ravenous sex. I went wild for his body, and he wasn’t timid with mine in return by any means. But then he did the thing … where he slowed down, looked in my eyes, and locked his hand into mine. Just thinking about it took my breath away all over again.

Just before my climax hit … I murmured something …

I thrashed up in the bathtub with a sharp gasp, flinging my hand over my mouth as if I could still take the words back. “No! Noooooo! I didn’t!”

But the luxury of my hazy memory was rapidly fading. I could remember it all clear as day now. Rocking into his body with each thrust, feeling closer to him than I had ever felt to anyone. Our hands clasped together. I looked into his eyes and moaned with a whisper, “I love you.”

Maybe he hadn’t heard me? No, I remembered the look in his eyes that made it clear he did. The moment I said it, he dropped his mouth to mine and guided us both to climax. Maybe he didn’t remember? Yeah, right Kate. You read the note he left. It sounded like a man running from a woman who just said the dreaded ‘l’ word to him.

I felt sick with regret. After getting out of the tub and drying off, I considered calling or texting to apologize, but I stopped myself. Saying anything else would only make it worse. And what did it matter anyway? Ben